Counselling offers you choices. Often counselling is essential to cope
with a crisis or problem. Counselling is needed when the individual's personal
resources are not sufficient to resolve a problem. It is a helpful aid to reach new
goals for personal, couple and family fulfilment.
Joan Spencer & Associates have developed a number of Workshops and Seminars
that are offered from time to time. Some of these may be accessed over the internet.
A Workshop or Seminar often provides a cost-effective way to continue your interest
in subjects raised in counselling. Others may find the Seminars and Workshops useful
alternatives to counselling.
Every person engaged professionally in counselling ought to avail themselves of
any opportunity presented for professional supervision. Professional supervision offers
the professional counsellor the privilege of checking out the processes they have
followed in individual cases with another experienced counsellor. Thus they can gain new
insights into their own professional development and case management.
Pastoral counselling is a form of counselling in which a pastoral counsellor, as
a representative of a religious tradition or community, uses the insights of theology and
psychology in working with persons to achieve health and wholeness. Unique to pastoral
counselling is the conviction that life's transitions and crises are best met by utilizing
both the wisdom of religious teachings and the knowledge and skills of psychology.
Cultural and social contexts are taken seriously in the therapeutic process.
Do you, as a divorced or separating parent feel trapped in the continuing
struggle to co-parent your child/ren with your ex-partner? This workshop may well be the
answer you are looking for!We are offering a Parenting Course for
separated couples to resolve residential and contact problems. "Building a
better life for your children." We hope to fill a glaring deficiency in
services now provided in Australia for parents and their children following the
trauma of divorce or separation. Children can "effectively" survive separation
but have less success surviving ongoing parental conflict. We can help you develop your
parenting plan, as suggested by the Family Law Act.
Mediation, sometimes referred to as dispute resolution, is a decision-making
process by which people in a relationship are helped to co-operatively resolve their
differences with the help of qualified and impartial mediators. Such a relationship may be
between husband and wife, couples in a defacto arrangement, parent and child, family,
employer and employee, or others in dispute. Joan Spencer, in addition to her
qualification as a mediator by virtue of her social work post graduate
degree has completed a two part course at the Moorabbin Mediation Centre and
now meets the requirements of the Federal Attorney's General
Department (Australia) to practice as a family law mediator.
Learn how to enhance your relationship, and put into place those
relationship skills that will help to ensure the growth in intimacy so essential for a
happy marriage. Become aware of the pitfalls that can catch you when you least
expect them. Discover why some successful defacto relationships run into trouble after the
wedding. Drawing from our experience in helping couples when things go wrong, combined
with years of premarital counselling sessions, we are in a unique position to help you
develop a fulfilling relationship. Your choice of either couple counselling, or the cost
effective alternative of Virtually Married workshops, or both.
oan
Spencer is accredited to practice as a mental health social
worker. An accredited Mental Health Social Worker is a
social worker who has been assessed by the Australian
Association of Social Workers (AASW) as having specialist mental health expertise.
An accredited Mental Health Social
Worker in private practice is eligible to provide services
through the (Australian) Commonwealth funded
Better Access to Mental health Care
and
Chronic Disease Management
(Team Care Arrangement )
programs. Social workers
are also providers in
the
Better Outcomes in Mental Health
Initiative.
Mental Health Social Workers have
a breadth of experience in assessing and working effectively
with people experiencing:Depression and other mood disorders,
Anxiety Disorders, Psychosis, Relationship problems, Adjustment issues, Family conflicts, Personality disorders,
Suicidal thoughts, Life Crisis, Trauma. See our home page for more details.
